Category Archives: Restaurants

This small café in East Sacramento on J Street has captured a big idea in food: keep it simple
using high-quality ingredients procured locally and seasonally. All menu items are made from
scratch, including aioli, salad dressings, stock and soups, desserts and bread. The assortment
of breads made daily are all crafted from a wild starter, no commercial yeast is used. Their
menu includes heirloom lettuce, beans, squash, turnips and beets when available. Produce
comes from Del Rio Botanicals and other local producers and farms and all meats are humanely
raised. All disposable to-go containers and tableware are made from recycled materials, which
are in turn recyclable. Juno’s Kitchen stands ready to answer questions about sourcing of any
food in their menu.

Paragary’s Bar and Oven was a pioneer in utilizing local, seasonal ingredients when it first opened in 1983, spurring the now prevalent “locavore” trend in the Sacramento dining scene. Since the beginning, the menu has featured seasonal items that utilize the highest quality meats and produce, provided by small local purveyors. Along with introducing the region’s first wood-fired pizza oven, the restaurant boasts one of the most unique outdoor patio spaces in the city. The restaurant has been certified as a “Sustainable Business” by the Business Environmental Resource Center.

Esquire Grill serves classic American cuisine, with a modern twist. Menu highlights include
natural Angus steaks, sustainably raised pork, local oysters, hand-crafted pastas, and free-
range chicken. The kitchen uses local, seasonal meats, seafood and produce from small local
purveyors. The restaurant has been certified as a “Sustainable Business” by the Business
Environmental Resource Center.

Centro Cocina Mexicana was founded on the idea of providing authentic, regional Mexican food in a fun, festive atmosphere. Executive Chef Kurt Spataro spent extensive time within several regions of the country, learning the cultural cuisines and techniques. Everything from the menu is prepared in-house using traditional Mexican cooking techniques. Salsas are made fresh daily, tortillas are hand-crafted, even the masa for the tamales is made with house-made lard. Unique features of the bar include a selection of seasonal fruit-infused tequilas, and a special barrel that ages a locally distributed organic tequila. The restaurant has been certified as a “Sustainable Business” by the Business Environmental Resource Center.

Set in a beautifully restored midtown Craftsman building, Kupros prides itself on providing seasonal, house-made offerings throughout the year, changing its menu to use foods at their peak of freshness and flavor. Produce and other ingredients emphasize local, natural, and sustainable principles, and are obtained from local farms (e.g., Del Rio, Capay) or hand-selected from local farmers markets. Kupros also participates in numerous local charity events throughout the year and recycles/composts waste products from the kitchen, minimizing their carbon footprint.

Since opening in 1993, Cafe Bernardo has served Sacramentans comforting, quality food utilizing the highest quality ingredients and practices. Along with using local, seasonal produce, the kitchen utilizes trans-fat free oils, cage-free VEGA eggs, free-range chicken, natural Angus beef, locally produced cheese, 100% maple syrup, dairy products free of growth hormones and antibiotics, and locally roasted free-trade coffee. The restaurant is also a certified “Sustainable Business” by The Business Environmental Resource Center, and was the first operating restaurant to receive this recognition in 2005. All three Cafe Bernardo locations participate in a number of charitable events, as well as donate thousands of dollars in gift cards to non-profits each year.

Lemon Grass Restaurant offers a casual fine dining experience, for lunch and dinner, in an atmosphere that’s quaint, cozy and inviting. At the heart of our authentic Southeast Asian flavors and signature dishes, we are committed to providing quality food through freshly prepared sauces, naturally raised meats, and the use of local produce and fresh herbs. We are committed to a menu that exclusively offers quality naturally raised meats such as Niman Ranch beef and Petaluma Chicken. We use local produce from area farmers markets and fresh aromatic herbs grown on a small family farm just south of Sacramento. Lemon Grass also offers a variety of delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes, and a gluten free menu.

Historically speaking, pizza is still a relatively new phenomenon, having had its origins as a street food in Naples, Italy, about 200 years ago. Immigrants brought it to Italian settlements on the East Coast at the beginning of the 20th century but it was not until after World War II that it became ubiquitous. Unfortunately, as pizza’s popularity spread, its quality transmogrified.

Robert B. Masullo, owner/chef of the pizza restaurant Masullo in the Land Park area, is returning to pizza’s roots. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, he went to Naples four times researching the art of pizza making with chefs at some of that city’s (and the world’s)
oldest and most honored pizzerias.

In his intimate — 40-seat — establishment which opened in 2008, Masullo, who was raised in the Land Park area, makes Neapolitan-style pizzas in a wood-burning brick oven imported from Italy, using the finest, primarily Central Valley ingredients. Short of taking a trip to Napoli, these are the most authentic pizzas one can buy.

Beside pizza, Masullo pizzeria features fine Italian-style salads, appetizers, soups and desserts. At midday it also offers panini (Italian sandwiches). Delicious food, mainly pizza, made in the simplest of manners is the goal at Masullo.

Lucca offers a California-Mediterranean influenced menu emphasizing seasonal ingredients in a
beautifully repurposed historic building. Most of the basic provisions are housemade…they cure
their own pancetta and grind their sausage from Bledsoe pork raised in Yolo County, and they
smoke pastrami from Lucky Dog Ranch beef (the ranch is owned by Lucca owners Ron and
Terri Gilliland). For products they don’t make themselves, like bread and gelato, they support
local artisan producers.

Here at Roxy, our focus is on using as many locally raised and naturally healthy food products as possible. We are also proud to offer our own Lucky Dog Ranch all natural, pasture-raised beef, from our ranch in Dixon, California. The chefs source many of the ingredients directly from local farmers or through their connections at the farmers’ market, and extensive daily specials highlight the creativity of the chefs and the freshest provisions available.